Jill Weaver of Fort Collins is pictured with a photo of her son, Marines Cpl. Phillip Weaver, who is deployed in Afghanistan. / V. Richard Haro/The Coloradoan

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Cpl. Phillip Weaver, sitting front and center, is pictured with members of his squadron at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan. / Courtesy of Jill Weaver

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Phillip Weaver may be on the other side of the world, but he’s never far from his family’s thoughts.

Weaver, 24, is a corporal with the U.S. Marines stationed at Camp Bastion, a major NATO base in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. Weaver is a helicopter mechanic on his first deployment in a combat zone since joining the Marines in 2009.

His parents, longtime Fort Collins residents Jill and Evan Weaver, hear from him fairly regularly through email and Facebook. He also Skypes from time to time with his wife, ChyAnn, who lives near his unit’s home base in San Diego.

The only phone call Jill has had from him since his unit shipped out in August came in mid-September after the camp was attacked by insurgents. Two Marines were killed in the attack.

“It was such a relief,” she said. “We are told ‘no news is good news,’ but it is so hard to wait to hear from him.

“I feel very lucky that we can use modern technology to keep in touch. I don’t know how military families of the past handled hearing from their loved ones by letter that could take months to arrive.”

Jill has other ways to stay emotionally close to Phillip. A first-grade teacher at Tozer Primary School in Windsor, she facilitated an Adopt-a-Troop program at the school that collected comfort items such as coffee, lip balm and toothpaste to send to Phillip’s unit.

She also participated in a “Keep a Marine Warm” program organized by another Marine’s mother that sent fleece blankets to everyone in the 280-member squadron.

Sometimes she and Evan will go into Phillip’s boyhood room in their house or take his 2004 Ford Cobra Mustang for a spin. Keeping busy keeps away the worry, at least a bit, Jill said.

And her thoughts certainly will be with Phillip on Veterans Day, a day that has become special for the family.

“I am reminded of the sacrifice of so many others who have loved their country and served in places far away from their families,” she said. “It is truly an honorable profession, and we are so proud of him.”

Standing strong

Veterans Day is set aside to honor all who have served in the U.S. military. Originally known as Armistice Day, it was meant to honor those who served in World War I.

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Military history matters to Don Woeber, a longtime Fort Collins resident and West Point graduate. He served 19 years in the Army.

Veterans Day and its meaning carry spiritual weight for Woeber. The day causes him to reflect on “the long gray line,” the continuum of West Point graduates.

“It’s a day to honor those who went before me,” he said. “It is my lineage.”

Two of Woeber’s sons, Josh and Kurt, joined the Wyoming Air National Guard after stints in the Navy and Marines, respectively. Both have seen duty overseas.

Kurt Woeber, a 46-year-old master sergeant, is deployed with a Guard unit servicing C-130 transport planes that fly in and out of Iraq.

He’s been deployed several times during his many years with the Air National Guard. But Woeber said he does not worry about his son’s safety.